The Director of Communications of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Richard Ahiagbah, has described the viewpoints of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) as “double standard” on a matter as serious as illegal mining, popularly known as galamsey.
He said it is sickening, adding that the press conference held by the NDC about illegal mining otherwise known as “galamsey” as pointless.
According to him, the pointlessness of the NDC press conference held by the party’s National Communications Officer, Sammy Gyamfi, on Tuesday April 25 regarding illegal mining was legendary,
Sammy Gyamfi during the press conference described all the government appointees cited in the Professor Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng report as “galamsey kingpins”
This is out of a report detailing the operations of the erstwhile Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM), citing some government officials for working against the fight against illegal mining.
“Our nation stands united crying for justice. Anything short of a bi-partisan inquiry into this matter will be fiercely resisted.”
But in a statement issued by Mr Ahiagbah, the NPP said “on Professor Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng’s document, as a party, we support the President’s prompt referral of the document to the CID, for an independent investigation. That is the democratic way, and the NDC is fully aware”.
Galamsey fight
He added that “the fight against galamsey is existential, but sadly the NDC has never seen it as such.
He claims that the NDC sees it first as politics, an avenue to canvass for votes either by way of promising galamseyers more galamsey when they ever win power.
“The individuals especially, the Information Minister, has responded to state his innocence, but the NDC simply refused to acknowledge it or be restrained it. Instead, the NDC went full hog to display their pictures as though they have been found culpable of anything. What would it have cost the NDC to have waited for the CID to complete its investigation and render its report for public scrutiny? He quizzed.
The NPP Communications Director appealed to all Ghanaians to get involved by reporting galamsey activities, learn about its dire implications for Ghana’s very existence, and on that basis, speak objectively against galamsey.
Mr Ahiagbah advised the NDC to learn to keep certain things above partisan politics and galamsey is one of such things.
“We know the NDC’s record on galamsey is criminal, to put it mildly. The fight against galamsey proceeds without fear or favor. Let’s all get involve less the partisanship that often weakens the cooperation we need to triumph. Please watch the attached NDC galamsey video, and I am sure you conclude with me that the NDC needs to get serious with the fight against galamsey. Their double standard on a matter as serious as galamsey is sickening,” he reiterated.
